The kitchen is a sacred space where culinary magic happens. And just like how magicians need solid tools to pull off a trick, you’d need high-quality appliances to pull off mouthwatering dishes. Enter the trinity of cooker hoods, hobs and ovens, which are a mainstay of any HDB or private property. From cooking your food to removing smelly odours, these fixtures are crucial elements in the kitchen as they’re likely to last for more than a couple of years.
We know it’s not always the easiest task to discern what exactly you should get, due to the mind-boggling variety in the market and the jargon-filled specs of different models.
So, aspiring cooks, here’s the lowdown to help you on your way to Masterchef glory:
- Know your preferred cooking style when choosing hob types
- Consider ease of cleaning, safety and electrical consumption
- Look at your cookware
- Consider your kitchen’s size and layout
- Match the intensity of your cooking sessions to suction power
- Opt for removable filters for easy cleaning
- Know what the oven will mainly be used for
- Assess the number of people you’re likely to serve
There are 3 main types of hobs – gas, radiant and induction.
Your ah-ma probably used a traditional gas hob, which has handheld control knobs and is still popular among many households. Radiant and induction hobs are the newer kids on the block, and both use electricity instead of an open flame.
A fine difference: radiant hobs use heat from electricity beneath the glass while induction uses magnetism – similar to that of your primary school science experiments.
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Gas Cooktop Vs Induction Cooktop
There are several pros & cons to each type of cooker, here we will examine them and see which might be best for your needs
If you are about to start a new home, one of the most important decisions to make is whether to cook using gas stoves or induction. Both ways of cooking have advantages and disadvantages.
GAS COOKTOP OR GAS STOVES
Gas cooktops, or the gas stove, is the most traditional way of cooking. Many households use gas stoves in which the heat source comes from different flammable gases such as natural gas, butane, propane or liquefied petroleum gas. Most of the modern gas stoves come with built in extractor hoods to help to extract certain gases and fumes etc.
PROS OF THE GAS COOKTOP:
- No power loss
- Lower Heat Emission
- Accurate Cooking Temperature
CONS OF A GAS COOKTOP:
- Messy
- Requires installation
- Potential danger
INDUCTION COOKING
Induction cooking was first patented during the early 1900s. Instead of thermal conduction through flames, induction cooking heats a cooking device by magnetic induction through electricity. It works by having a coil of copper wire placed under the cooking pot and having alternating electric currents that passes through the copper wire. Because of this structure, special cooking pots and pans made of ferromagnetic metal like stainless steel or cast iron must be used.
PROS OF INDUCTION COOKING:
- No wasted heat
- Cool Stovetop
- Maximum Safety
CONS OF INDUCTION COOKING:
- Only Works With Magnetic Cooking Vessels
- Power Interruption
- Cannot use if you have a pacemaker
